The Leasehold Network

Briefings

Topical issues, legislative and policy changes, and the latest operational issues all explained in an easy-to-read format, with suggestions for future action. These specialist briefings provide guidance, comment, suggested actions and good practice information on all the key issues for leasehold teams across the sector.

Briefings

Briefings are free to members.

Non-members may purchase selected briefings for a fee. Contact us on 01904 557150 to enquire or join the network for full access to all briefings as part of your membership.

This is a briefing, drafted by The Health and Safety Network which considers all the information, guidance, facts and speculation that have emerged since this shocking event and provides some initial guidance with regard to the actions that leasehold teams should consider.

In 2014, the DCLG asked the Law Commission to investigate event fees. Some leases require the leaseholder to pay a fee on certain events, such as sale or sub-letting. These fees, which are referred to as 'event fees', are common in specialist housing for older people, but rare in other residential leases.

Following the introduction of the Right to Buy for council tenants in 1980, two million households have purchased their council homes. A spike of sales in the early 1980s saw 160,000 properties a year transferring into private ownership, but by 2011, and following the property crash, this was down to 4,000.

It is likely that very few social landlords recover all of the service charges due to them from their tenants, leaseholders and freeholders. Efficient administration and collection of service charges for landlords with a large stock of mixed tenure properties is not easy, and there are a good number of circumstances that occur which can lead to errors and miscalculations which have a negative impact on service charge collection. This guidance looks at the main areas which can be contributing factors to a shortfall in service charge income.

As a Leasehold Excellence Network member, you’ll doubtless be aware of this House of Commons briefing paper from your news update last month. You may have been somewhat surprised by the appearance of the paper, although less than surprised that it contained nothing new.

A phrase which seems to be becoming more common place is ‘last time buyers’. There are now more people over 60 in the UK than ever before. There are significant numbers of older people now living in leasehold properties.

The extending of Right to Buy has been one of the biggest election manifesto issues. This new briefing from LEN Associate Helen Muir explains the latest situation concisely and looks at what both housing associations and local authority social landlords will need to think about over the coming months.

Repairs and caps have been in the headlines again recently. This month’s technical briefing, by LEN Associate John Gargan, looks at why landlords must carefully consider the reasons for carrying out works of repair – especially when the works are improvements, even if the lease allows for the recovery of the costs of such works.

Following on from an earlier briefing ‘Litigate or mediate?’ back in September 2013, LEN Associate and fully-trained mediator John Gargan sets out his top tips for mediation so as to help to avoid the cost of litigation and tribunals to resolve leaseholder disputes.

With the Competition and Markets Authority’s ongoing service review now including social housing providers, this briefing from LEN Associate Cecilia Brodigan – who was involved in the initial round-table discussions – looks at the implications of the review for local authority, ALMO and housing association leasehold management teams.

A few questions have been asked recently about the treatment of feed-in tariffs (FIT) where leaseholders are resident in a block, or where properties are sold through Right to Buy, or indeed for shared ownership properties. This raises a number of issues which need to be considered, since the treatment of these cases may depend on how the original installation was procured or funded.

Over a number of years, leasehold practitioners have become quite accustomed to dealing with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT), or "LVT", and, as its jurisdiction has evolved over time, even distinguishing between "Old LVT" and "New LVT" applications. Some of you will be aware that other jurisdictions were exercised under similarly constituted tribunals, albeit operating under different titles – the Rent Assessment Committee, and the Residential Property Tribunal. By Schedule 2 of the Rent Act 1965, Rent Assessment Committees were originally created to consider appeals against fair rent registrations. The Housing Act 1980 granted them jurisdiction to determine certain matters relating to the enfranchisement of leasehold houses, previously dealt with in the County Court. The LVT was born.